


Under the Guise of Normalcy

by glorifiedscapegoat



Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Domestic, Earth 15061, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25825870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorifiedscapegoat/pseuds/glorifiedscapegoat
Summary: Billy was curled up in his bed, toasty and drowsy beneath the layers of blankets and down quilts he'd stolen from the Avenger's mansion and his old apartment on the Upper East Side, when Teddy finally came home.
Relationships: Teddy Altman/Billy Kaplan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91





	Under the Guise of Normalcy

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first Billy/Teddy fic! I planned this out awhile ago, but I've finally gotten around to posting it. With all the new content coming out and all the amazing writers on this site creating fan fic for us all to enjoy, I figured it was a good time to post my own, too! ^w^

Billy was curled up in his bed, toasty and drowsy beneath the layers of blankets and down quilts he'd stolen from the Avenger's mansion and his old apartment on the Upper East Side, when Teddy finally came home. The sky had long since darkened—but that was nothing new. Teddy's position in the Avengers Initiative kept him away at odd hours.

Billy heard him approaching long before he stumbled into the bedroom. His heavy feet trampled through the kitchen, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight.

Natasha had announced that negotiations with the scattered assemblage of former X-Men, Avengers, and other minuscule groups of superhumans would not happen until the following morning. Billy had forgone any of the paperwork assigned to him in favor of taking a long-overdue power nap. He'd barely begun to nod off when Teddy opened the bedroom door.

His maroon Skrull armor gleamed with rainwater, and more of it plastered his blond hair to his forehead and neck. He was in desperate need of a haircut, but Billy thought long hair suited him. He wondered if Teddy would grow it out—though he supposed he could always Shift it back if he didn't like the result.

Teddy's blue eyes flickered with warmth as he quietly shut the bedroom door. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I didn't wake you, did I?”

Billy shifted against the plush pillows. He was nearly swallowed by the duvet.

Teddy was still Hulked out: large and green, with muscles like iron cords running through his back and arms. His overall size, coupled with the unnatural pigment of his skin and the brutish wings jutting from his spine, made the sheepish expression on his face even more hysterical.

“Don't worry,” Billy grinned. “I was awake _long_ before you strode home.”

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Teddy's mouth. He Shifted down, the armor shrinking with him as the human pallor of his skin bled across his cheekbones and down his forearms. His wings folded up like paper against his spine before sliding along the curve of his back. Billy had seen Teddy Shift thousands of times, but he never got used to the change. It never seemed possible that the hulking beast his fiancé could turn into could fit inside him so perfectly.

Despite the warmth and the humor on his face, every single one of Teddy's movements as he stripped out of his armor and down to his underwear were heavy and slow. Without the Shift, Billy could see the dark lines beneath his eyes, the redness in the whites that made them glassy and unfocused. It was a wonder Teddy had even managed to fly home.

Billy frowned and eased himself onto his elbows. “You should have called me. I would have magicked you home so you didn't have to fly.”

Teddy tossed his armor onto the back of the chair. His jacket landed on the seat, but his pants hit the floor with a muted thump.

“You're exhausted, too,” Teddy muttered, scrubbing a hand down his face. “And when _I_ exert myself, I don't pass out for three days.”

“That was one time!” Billy pointed out. “And besides, Natasha hasn't kept _me_ in the office for the past week.” He sat up, the covers falling around his waist in a warm heap. “I don't want you plummeting out of the sky because you're too stubborn to ask your fiancé to bring you home.”

Teddy flashed Billy a brilliant smile that still stopped his heart, even to this day. “Don't worry about me. I haven't fallen out of the sky yet, and this is definitely less time than I've gone without sleep.”

“That's not comforting at all.” Billy frowned. "Please tell me you ate something, at least.”

Teddy stretched his arms over his head. The thick cords of muscle beneath his pale skin rippled as he moved. “I'm all right, Bee.” His brilliant blue gaze slid over Billy's bare legs as he shoved aside the blankets.

There was something desperate lurking in his eyes, but Billy ignored it and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The carpet was warm beneath his toes as he stood up.

“I'll go make you something,” he said.

“Billy, seriously, I'm fine—”

“When was the last time you ate?”

Teddy pursed his lips.

“Theodore Altman,” said Billy with a long-suffering sigh. “I'm _seriously_ going to kill you.” He smoothed the hem of his jersey as he stalked across the room. “Take a shower, and I'll make something. Mac and cheese sound good?”

Teddy turned to catch his wrist as he attempted to walk out the bedroom door. “You don't have to do that.” He had a sheepish expression on his face that would have been adorable if Billy wasn't currently imagining throttling him. “I can just grab something in the—”

“If you say _in the morning_ , I'm going to punch your lights out.”

Teddy shut his mouth.

With a sharp glance, Billy extracted his wrist from Teddy. “The clean towels are on the low rack. Should be plenty of hot water, and I just bought some more shampoo and body wash the other day. Take as long as you need. I'll be right back.”

Billy wandered out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Rain thundered against the windows and the thick roof of the apartment complex.

Fifteen minutes later, Teddy opened the bedroom door wearing a black Captain America tee shirt and a pair of sleep pants. His hair was wet from the shower, smelling of Old Spice Bearglove and the Cor bar Billy kept in the shower but almost never touched.

Billy came in with a tray in his hands. Teddy took one look at it and narrowed his eyes as Billy walked to the computer desk beside the window. The curtains were still drawn.

“I thought you said you were going to make _mac and cheese_ ,” Teddy groused.

“I did,” Billy remarked.

He scanned the desk for a spot to place down the tray and was disappointed to see that there were mounds of paperwork blocking him. All important, time-sensitive materials that Billy couldn't just magic into nonexistence. He sighed, vowing to do something about the clutter in his bedroom, and carried the tray over to the bed.

“Then what's all of that, then?” Teddy pointed at the tray and perched on the edge of the bed.

Billy looked down. There was indeed mac and cheese on the tray—among other things. A small, chipped serving dish of green beans (because vegetables were an essential part of a good meal), a few pieces of toast (burned to a crisp at the edges, because Billy was positive the toaster was sentient and out to ruin his life), a tall mug of Root Beer (because all the glasses were piled into the sink and Billy swore he would get to them soon), and a few slices of the only apple in the whole apartment that didn't have a bruise on it.

“Sides,” he said with an indifferent shrug.

Teddy shot him a look. “Mac and cheese is a side.” He gestured to the food piled onto the tray. “ _This_ is excessive. I hope some of this is for you, too.”

“ _I_ already ate today,” Billy said with a shrug. “ _I'm_ not an idiot.” There was no bite behind his words. And after a moment, Teddy's lips drew back into an affectionate smile. Billy returned it and nudged the tray toward him. “Now, stop complaining and eat.”

Defeated, Teddy picked up the bowl of mac and cheese and tore into it. He began slowly enough, but once the first few bites had been swallowed, he dug into the bowl like a wild dog. Once the bowl was empty, Teddy set it down and picked up the toast (burnt crusts and all) and devoured those, too.

“Holy crap,” Billy said, watching as Teddy downed the mug of Root Beer in a single swig. “Did you eat anything at all today?”

Teddy's blue eyes flickered to the computer desk. To the storm outside the window. Anywhere but into his fiance's accusing eyes. “I had a few shortbread cookies,” he said after a nightmarishly long pause. He set the mug on the tray. “This morning.”

Billy's eyes flickered. “Teddy.”

Teddy shrugged, but Billy could see the rising panic in his expression. “I had work to do.”

“ _Teddy_.”

Teddy picked up the apple slices and tried not to look guilty.

Billy's lips began to twitch into a smile. “You could at least try not to make me worry about you.”

Teddy snorted. “Hello, Pot. I'm Kettle.”

“Well, Kettle. Could you _try_ to act like the semi-responsible adult I thought I was engaged to?”

Teddy shoved one of the apple slices into his mouth. “Billy,” he said, covering his lips with his hand so Billy wouldn't have to watch him chew while he spoke. “I appreciate the concern, but you don't need to fuss over me.”

“Excuse me,” Billy remarked, “but it's in my nature to worry about you. Especially when you neglect basic day to day needs. And besides, how is it fair that _you_ get to worry about _me_ and _I_ can't worry about _you?_ You always panic about the littlest things—”

Teddy's dark blue eyes snapped to Billy's, all humor having left his face, and the intensity burning behind them like wildfire made Billy pause.

“Your nightmares,” Teddy said, slowly, “are not a little thing.”

Billy shrugged. “They're not that bad.”

“Not that _bad?_ ”

“Not when you're here.”

Teddy's expression softened.

Billy stared at him for a moment, his heart beating like a small bird behind his chest. He smiled and gestured to the tray. “Keep eating,” he murmured, and with an equally warm twitch of his lips, Teddy shoved another slice of apple into his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Interested in some more awesome stuff and other random nonsense? Then come hang out with me on Tumblr: **https://glorifiedscapegoat.tumblr.com/**


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